What a night! So thankful for how last night’s PauseTalk Vol. 100 turned out, including getting the biggest crowd in Shanghai so far (20+), and enjoying a lovely conversation that, as always, went in directions I couldn’t have expected. Also, first PauseTalk with a fireplace!

It’s PauseTalk Vol. 100 tonight (at Cotton’s, starting at 19:30), so had a nice celebratory lunch at Mignon9. The aperitif was handmade yak’s cheese, and the steak frites was delish.

Yummy bento I had for lunch made by my wife, and yummy snack I made for myself just now.

I played a few games last year (on Switch/Switch 2).

Sometimes, you just gotta put on some Esquivel.

How have I never heard this terrific cover of “Mr. Grieves” by TV on the Radio (just heard it at the end of an episode of The Righteous Gemstones). music.apple.com/ca/album/mr-...

My FOTO5 for the week, for the theme “Thresholds.”

PauseTalk Vol. 100 is this week! It takes place on Thursday (January 15), at a new venue, Cotton's (294 Xinhua Road) -- we'll have a space on the 2nd floor reserved for us. No entry fee, and no obligation, but I would encourage ordering at least a drink to thank the owner for the use of the space.

I loved the fuck out of Pluribus, and enjoyed the music while watching, but this soundtrack album is also really solid as just a great compilation album. music.apple.com/ca/album/plu...

This is just crazy: "To Miyazaki, The Castle of Cagliostro was a rehash — leftovers of the old Lupin the 3rd era. He and his team threw the film together in under five months, and it bombed in theaters." From this piece: animationobsessive.substack.com/p/miyazakis-...

I don't play a lot of 2-player games since I usually have a group to play with, but twice over the past week we were only 2, and so played some 2-player games I had picked up but never played yet, and really enjoyed them both: The Fox in the Forest and For the Emperor.

It may not look like much, but I just made this creamy white chili with sweet potatoes and white beans, and it’s pretty damn tasty.

It’s pretty fun to leaf though the latest issue of Uniqlo’s LifeWear magazine (yeah, I’m a bit late) and to see your buddy pictured on a page (in this case, Craig Mod, a terrific writer, photographer, and walker — and old pal from my days living in Tokyo).

Sunday morning in bed.

As the 2026 winter anime season starts, I realize I didn’t share a thread of what I watched during the fall season, so I’ll start with that.

Fun Friday night.

For FOTO5, this year I’ve decided to be more deliberate with the themes. I’ve developed a quarterly theme, “Edges & Beginnings,” and the theme this week is “Edges of Light.”

Great edition of the newsletter that points out quite a few reasons why you might want to visit Nagasaki at some point.

And here is the info in English.

If you’re in Tokyo, you should really go to this.

Love seeing a new edition of PauseDraw happening!

I just played through the Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined demo, and I love it so much. This is how I want every DQ game to look and play — it just looks so great, and the vibe is so nice. I’m sold, and will definitely be picking it up when the full game releases.

I don’t know his age or his birthday, but yesterday marked the 3rd anniversary of our “getting together” day — love you, buddy!

Very much looking forward to this series (from Science Saru). youtu.be/M-nwPdtqAcM?...

Vol. 50!?! Yes, our next PechaKucha Night is the city's 50th edition, which is quite the milestone. Have a look at the amazing lineup of presenters below and join us on Thursday, January 22 at Haworth (the same great space in Jing'an we used for last month's Vol. 49) -- scan the QR code for tickets.

Here's the fifth edition of my monthly M31 newsletter, in which I share my creative manifesto for 2026, as well as updates on all my activities (PauseTalk, PechaKucha Night, FOTO5, Shanghai Design Pins, and more). www.jeansnow.net/2026/01/06/m...

How do you measure success at work? I’ve been invited to do the wine tasting for our annual meeting and party.

Three books I enjoyed during the New Year break.

As I’ve been rewatching the Fantômas trilogy from the sixties, I’ve gotta say that I’ve developed quite the crush on Mylène Demongeot.

FYI, I’ll be sending out the next edition of my monthly newsletter, M31, early this week — it will include my creative manifesto for 2026. You can subscribe here. www.rumicat.com/m31

Here’s my FOTO5 for the final weekly theme of 2025, “endings.”

If you’re curious, here’s my Letterboxd year in film. letterboxd.com/jeansnow/yea...

Some great news to start the year! PauseTalk Vol. 100 is now set to take place on Thursday, January 15 at Cotton's (294 Xinhua Road, 2nd floor) -- yup, new venue for the series. As usual, the official (moderated) session will start at 19:30, and no entry fee.

It’s January 2, and I’ve already watched 6 movies in 2026 😂

January.

Here's my round-up of books read in 2025 -- although I didn't reach my target of 20, I got oh-so-close by reading 18 books this past year (and I'm about to finish my 19th). www.jeansnow.net/2026/01/01/b...

Here it is, my traditional (for the 16th time) giant list of favorite media released from the past year (and so 2025), in which I share my top 5 games, movies, TV, music, podcasts, comics, and more. www.jeansnow.net/2026/01/01/f...

Today I finished watching the remastered version of The Beatles Anthology series, which I enjoyed just as much as I did if not more than when I first watched it in the 90s. Such an amazing musical journey, and it nicely lines up with the Get Back documentary series. letterboxd.com/jeansnow/fil...

New year, new month, first movie thread of 2026 -- let's go January! (And expect continued additions to my "1995" movie marathon thread, as I'm not done watching what I want to watch from that year.)

Kicking off the year with a new Puffy video drop (no, not THAT Puffy, the GOOD Puffy). youtu.be/rc7-fu8U6wU?...

Happy New Year from Shanghai!

Yup, Kohaku is on the TV, it sure is New Year’s Eve alright.

Finished 2025 having played 111 different board games throughout the year — logged 316 play sessions. Last game played: Temple of Elemental Evil (at lunch time today).

Another fun build.

Three movies, three games, and three books that I’ve enjoyed during my Christmas break.

This book looks terrific.

My FOTO5 for the week, for the theme “Christmas.”

Christmas dinner (well, brunch) success — ate so much I can’t move now 😂 Used up all the butter we had to cook this — the stuffing was especially good. Cooked while watching National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and the Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas special.

The new Largo Winch album is pretty good.

Powered up the tree with a new ornament.